The problem seems to be that the original MK4 chassis was not properly braced in the trunk area causing the car to sag when it was put on the rotisserie in the welding jig. Not all cars were affected, but enough that Factory Five changed the trunk design shortly after the release of the Mk4. My car was one of the first MK4’s out of the factory and was probably shipped before the problem became apparent.

After much discussion with Jason Lavigne and a call to and from Dave Smith, Factory Five has offered to send me a new chassis and aluminum.

Thankfully, I did not start my build like the manual instructs. Since I am going to have all of my aluminum anodized, I wanted to get it all fitted, drilled and prepped before starting to actually put the car together. So, none of the front end or suspension has been installed.

My loss is about 50 hours of time and a dozen drill bits. My gain is a chance to start over with the knowledge I have acquired from fitting and drilling the aluminum once already.

I would like to thank Dave Smith and his team for standing behind their products. Nobody is perfect, it is how problems are handled that sets a company apart.